


Push

by relic_amaranth



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Other, Pining, Polyamory, Sappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 12:59:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15025109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/relic_amaranth/pseuds/relic_amaranth
Summary: Having a crush on Steve and Bucky seemed fine when it was one or the other. Having a serious crush on both of them seemed like an insurmountable problem. However they are two of the most stubborn men in history, and you just need a good push in the right direction.





	Push

**Author's Note:**

> A little piece of fluff that I enjoyed writing so much that I just kind of worked on it until it was done. Written for @barnesrogersvstheworld #barnesrogers1k writing challenge on Tumblr, for prompt #40 “Swing”. Please enjoy.

 

“There you are!”

You snap your head up, surprised to see the two supersoldiers running towards you at a jog. You inhale sharply, cold air inhabiting your lungs for a long moment as you take a chance to look around for someone else, certain they won't make a scene if someone else is going to shove their nose or camera into it. But the park is utterly abandoned this late at night. It’s just you, pathetic and swinging slightly to and fro, etching words, pictures, and initials into the dirt under your feet.

Thinking of– you hastily smooth over the sand with your foot.

“H-hi guys,” you stammer as they come to stand in front of you. “Why are you here?”

“You,” Bucky says, frowning, “–ran off. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” you say before you even realize the words that are exiting your mouth, and you wince. You have to admit you might have a problem if you’re actually _instinctively_ telling people you’re fine.

“Bull,” Bucky huffs and leans on the metal bar next to you. You can hear Steve maneuver his way into sitting on the swing on your other side. Steve says your name and you hang your head, trying to figure out what to say. Right now your only plan is ‘anything but the truth’.

Steve and Bucky are your friends. They have been for a while. Early on in your burgeoning friendship you had a little crush on Steve and it was fine; harmless. Who _wouldn’t_ have a crush on him? He’s strong and resilient where other people would have broken, smart enough to navigate an entirely new era, righteous (to a fault, if you’re asking Bucky and Tony), and so, _so_ kind in ways you can’t even begin to numerate.

And, most importantly, so very devoted to and in love with his partner, Bucky. Which you have never ever found to be a problem, because Bucky is just as amazing as Steve. Bucky has been through so much and you can see that in his cautious mannerisms, how guarded he is of himself, his love, and his friends. But when you’re lucky enough to get to know Bucky you find a secret homebody, someone who loves and protects with all of his very big heart, whose laugh can lift anyone’s spirits, and who gives hugs like he’s making up for lost time.

So you got a little crush on Bucky too. Again, harmless; Bucky is a giant loveable puppy of a man when you get to know him, so you felt no shame in swinging your innocent infatuation from one adorable supersoldier to the other, and back and forth again. It never occurred to you to be worried because Bucky and Steve have been hopelessly in love since before you were born and you love how in love they are. And you’ll stand by that, even now. Even now that you’re an impossible mess.

“What…what did we do?” Steve asks in a tone that breaks your heart. Because he and Bucky aren’t just your friends, they’re your _best_ friends. Over the past year the three of you have become nigh-inseparable. You have some other friends and so do they, with some crossover, but those two are always inviting you out, and if you have a bad day, or date, they’re always the first ones you call for commiserating.

Well, less of the ‘date’ one. They’re overprotective old bastards, (you are going to personally kill whoever introduced them to true crime shows), and seem to not want you to date at all. But that’s such bullshit, because how are you supposed to find your own epic romance?

Except that, you sort of have. And it’s doomed to end as an unrequited tragedy, because you don’t just have innocent ‘I Heart JB Heart SR’ Trapper Keeper crushes on them, no. You’re _in love_ with your two best friends, and they only have eyes for each other. As they should.

As much as you tell yourself that, though, it has yet to help. Stupid emotions.

“You didn’t do anything. It’s me. I’m…” You don’t actually know how to finish that without breaking your ‘not the truth, anything but the truth, so help you God’ policy, so you sigh and leave it there.

“Steve and I got nowhere else to be all night,” Bucky says and leans in to hover. You roll your eyes. His menacing stance lost all and any effect on you after that one afternoon when Bucky, terribly-cute-but-still-a-deadly-assassin (or so he says) Bucky, hugged you tight and refused to let you go for a full twenty minutes because he wanted to _cuddle_.

Yeah, no; you’re not going to be intimidated by a goddamn puppy.

“I’m just…going through something. It’s not a big deal,” you say.

“You’ve been avoiding our calls and texts for weeks and you just tried to _run_ from us,” Steve says, anger and ache in his tone. It’s a mix of disapproval, irritation, and hurt, and it hurts you too. “It _is_ a big deal. Are you–” His breath hitches and he immediately becomes concerned. Because Steve Rogers is too good; far too good for a supposed friend who can’t stop wanting to invade in his most precious relationship. “Did someone hurt you? Threaten you?”

“No, no,” you say quickly. “I just…I…”

Bucky is quiet, somber when he asks, “Is it too much? Being around us?”

You don’t answer at first because the answer is ‘sort of’ and ‘yes’ but you assume they’ll make you explain and you want no part of that, even now that it’s an inevitability. Steve and Bucky are the most stubborn bastards you’ve ever met in your life.

However, in this case, silence means ‘yes’ and that ‘yes’ has an entirely different implication– one you never thought to consider. You only realize it when the entire swing set shakes and you startle out of your seat to see Bucky backing away, looking more hurt than you have ever seen him before.

“No! No no no not like that!” You leap forward and grab onto his hand. His bionic one, which gives you very little traction, so you hold onto his wrist with both of your hands as tight as you can.

“Like _how_ then?” Bucky snaps and pulls. He sounds so upset but his face is stoning over and as much as you don’t want them to think you’re weird or gross or pathetic, you can’t, you just _can’t_ , no matter what, be one more person who hurts him, who hurts either of these men who have been through so much and are already so closed off because of it.

“I’m in _love_ with you, you jerk!”

Well.

That’s not quite how you wanted that to come out but it is…effective. Bucky’s not trying to rip away from you now. Probably just because the shock is setting in. You expect once the words penetrate that thick noggin of his he’ll be running away from you like you’re patient zero of the zombie apocalypse.

“You’re…in love with Bucky?” Steve asks, strained.

You groan in dismay and partly collapse– you end up hunched over yourself, balanced on the balls of your feet and hiding your face in your knees and under your arms. The swing lightly hits your back. You wish it had somehow clocked you in the head before you opened your mouth, but you’re never that lucky. At least it can’t get much worse now, so, well, what the hell. In for a penny, in for a pound. “I’m in love with _both_ of you.”

Silence. Aside from the creaky swing. Thanks, creaky swing, for trying to make this less awkward. It isn’t working. On the plus side for modern medicine: if it is _at all_ possible to die from utter humiliation, you’re going to be the one to find out.

Or heartbreak, you realize as Steve comes to stand in front of you. You stare resolutely through a crack in your legs at the sand under his boots. You keep staring and don’t sink into the earth even as he says, “You're in love. With me and Bucky.”

It’s not a question, but you nod anyways. Though it’s dubious Steve can even see it, with you tucked in as you are. The more important question, though, is what kind of junk food do you gorge on when you lose your best friends _and_ get romantically rejected? And do you get double since there are two of them?

“Oh.” Steve sighs. “Thank _God_.”

You snap your head up, wondering what’s going on to make him sound so relieved. Is Natasha coming to assassinate you for messing with her OTP? If so you are totally in for a quick, efficient death.

However the park remains bereft of hot ginger spies. Steve is looking at _you_. You have no idea what to make of that. You’re pretty sure your face looks like a question mark when he smiles at you.

You’re pretty sure your face looks like an exclamation mark when he grabs your arms and pulls you to your feet.

You’re pretty sure your face is a string of interrobangs when he _kisses you_.

You barely get to know how it feels, you’re so deep in shock, when Bucky says “Hey! No hogging,” and pulls you away from Steve to kiss you himself.

You thought you were mostly joking about dying from embarrassment, but this seems a lot like your idea of heaven. Except…colder. And there’s sand in your shoe, grinding against your heel.

Bucky pulls away and you try to breathe. “What…what just…” You blink and try to reboot, but. “ _What_?!”

“I thought we just gave you an answer to that.” Bucky is smiling like you’ve never seen him smile before, and he lightly tucks your chin. “You already need a refresher?”

You’re tempted to say ‘yes’ just because– well, _yes_ , but Steve says “Bucky” in light admonishment and takes your hand. Steve makes eye contact with you, smiling but still looking hopelessly shy. It’s one of your favorite expressions he has, but you’ve only ever, through stolen glances on moments you were not part of, seen it aimed at Bucky. Seeing it so openly, right at you, keeps you speechless.

You sit back down on the swing before your legs can give out. Steve just kneels in front of you, seemingly unbothered and apparently unwilling to take his eyes from yours. Bucky stands behind you, rests his hands on your shoulders, and _this_ – this is heaven.

“What Bucky was trying to say,” Steve says, flicking his eyes up at his lover before focusing again on you, “–is that we’ve been falling for you for a while now.”

What does ‘a while’ mean to him? And… “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you?” Bucky asks and earns a sharp look from Steve.

“I just did,” you say dryly. You sigh. “But…why _would_ I? You’re my best friends; you’ve been together forever. I thought you’d think I was gross, or weird, or both. I didn’t know you even knew about polyamory.”

“We may not know much about that,” Steve says. “But we know love.”

Your mouth hangs open and you can’t really work words. At first. “I…I don’t know…much about that,” you admit. You lean your head all the way back to see Bucky smiling down at you. Steve stands and presses the top of his head to Bucky’s, so you can see them both. You can see them both together, looking so similarly at you.

“It’s something we can teach you about,” Steve says with a hopeful lilt to his tone.

You take a deep breath, feeling stronger than ever. “I can’t wait to learn.”


End file.
